There are many things in life that create pleasure, and everyone enjoys pleasurable things. So imagine that you are a spirit in heaven and are awaiting your turn for life on earth. You are standing in line, and when it is your turn to see the angel who gives you your life, you are faced with a question. The angel asks you to make a choice between the life of Haydn and the life of an oyster. The angel even says that he will make a bargain with you because he is desperate to get rid (I would use a different term) of the oyster life. He says, that if you choose the life of Hayden, you will be a famous musician, loved by many, and have a very pleasurable life, but you will die well before your time. (I would rephrase this) However, if you choose
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To me, the obvious choice is that of the musical composer, Hayden. I would choose Hayden’s life over the oyster’s life because I agree with Mill’s theory of qualitative hedonism. I believe that not all pleasurable things in life should be viewed and measured the same. One of the great things about human life is that we are able to experience higher pleasures such as reading great works of literature, playing/listening to music, participating in intellectual conversations, and experiencing love beyond a physical sense. The life of an oyster offers none of these things. Sure the oyster’s life offers endless pleasure, but it is pleasure that would be comparable to being in a daze while floating in a bathtub. No one with any shred of dignity would trade their human life for something like that. Life is made up of lower and higher pleasures, and once one is aware of higher pleasures, then they simply do not want to live without them. What is the point of living if you can do nothing with your life beyond float? Life was meant to be lived, and by this, I mean that life was meant to be an experience that reaches beyond words. When one gets back to heaven and sees that angel again, those who choose the life of Hayden will tell a great and wonderful story, those who choose the life of the oyster, will have nothing to share at all. Every individual must choose the life that they want, but every individual should also be able to see why the life of Hayden is the life to
To me, the obvious choice is that of the musical composer, Hayden. I would choose Hayden’s life over the oyster’s life because I agree with Mill’s theory of qualitative hedonism. I believe that not all pleasurable things in life should be viewed and measured the same. One of the great things about human life is that we are able to experience higher pleasures such as reading great works of literature, playing/listening to music, participating in intellectual conversations, and experiencing love beyond a physical sense. The life of an oyster offers none of these things. Sure the oyster’s life offers endless pleasure, but it is pleasure that would be comparable to being in a daze while floating in a bathtub. No one with any shred of dignity would trade their human life for something like that. Life is made up of lower and higher pleasures, and once one is aware of higher pleasures, then they simply do not want to live without them. What is the point of living if you can do nothing with your life beyond float? Life was meant to be lived, and by this, I mean that life was meant to be an experience that reaches beyond words. When one gets back to heaven and sees that angel again, those who choose the life of Hayden will tell a great and wonderful story, those who choose the life of the oyster, will have nothing to share at all. Every individual must choose the life that they want, but every individual should also be able to see why the life of Hayden is the life to